1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a photo printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
With wide spread use of digital cameras, users of digital cameras who want to output and keep photographic images taken by the digital camera on a printing medium, such as a photo printing paper, as well as store them in a storage medium, such as a hard disc drive of a computer, are tending to increase.
To satisfy such users' desires, a photo printer has been developed. The photo printer is an article which is not used for general image printing but instead for photograph printing.
Various types of photo printers have been proposed and used with the spread of digital cameras. Early photo printers print only photographic images, which are stored in the storage medium after being shot by the digital camera, whereas present photo printers directly receive photographic image data from the digital camera and print the photographic image data onto a printing medium while providing various image editing functions.
Recently, a photo printer has been developed which has a size reduced enough to carry as compared with a conventional standing type photo printer, edits photographic image data stored in its own memory as well as the storage medium of a computer, and/or prints photographic images shot by a high performance camera phone that has a resolution of more than five million pixels.
Also recently, photo printers have been commercialized which print photographic images taken by digital cameras using printing techniques such as an inkjet method, a dye sublimation thermal transfer method, a direct thermal method, etc.
Photo printers are generally provided with a printing engine to print a photographic image and conveying rollers to convey the printing medium. In an inkjet photo printer, the printing engine includes an inkjet head, whereas in a dye sublimation thermal transfer photo printer or a direct thermal photo printer, the printing engine includes a thermal printing head (TPH).
Photo printers, such as a conventional laser color printer or the conventional inkjet printer, also have an interface unit which transmits data by wire or radio to a personal computer (PC) or a photographing apparatus, such as a digital camera. Accordingly, the photo printers can receive photographic image data from the PC or the photographing apparatus and print the photographic image data onto the printing medium.
Like the digital camera, the photo printers usually also have a small size and a light weight so that a user can easily carry it. Accordingly, the photo printers are advantageous in that while being carried with the photographing apparatus, a user can directly transmit photographic images shot by the photographing apparatus to the photo printer and print the photographic images.
However, contrary to the photo printers of small size and light weight as described above, the printing medium used with these photo printers usually has a relatively larger size as compared with the photo printer itself. Accordingly, the photo printer should be configured so that a medium cassette for supplying the printing medium has a size larger than that of a printer body of the photo printer, thereby requiring an additional space for supplying the printing medium to the photo printer.
Also, to print a color image on the supplied printing medium, the photo printer, such as the dye sublimation thermal transfer photo printer or the direct thermal photo printer, has to reciprocate the printing medium in a front and rear direction several times. Accordingly, to stably reciprocate the printing medium in the front and rear direction and at the same time print the color image onto the printing medium with developers of colors, such as yellow, magenta, and cyan, and a coating agent, sufficient spaces should be built in a front of the printer body on which the medium cassette is located and in a rear (or front) of the printer body from which the printing medium is discharged.
As described above, in the conventional photo printers, a problem occurs in that contrary to the intention to have a small size and light weight for the photo printer, separate spaces are required to provide for the printing medium supplying and printing passages for the photo printer.
Also, with the conventional photo printers, a problem occurs in that the medium cassette is manufactured and installed separately from the printer body.